I live in Oregon (in case you weren’t sure). Here we are in the midst of our SUPER FANTASTIC vote by mail process, and it is so the nicest thing. I remember waiting patiently at the Grange Hall for my mom to vote, and really I like this idea better. Or at least I did until this time around.
Here in Oregon we have two candidates for a Senate seat: Gordon Smith who holds the seat now, and his challenger, Jeff Merkley. This is my attempt to work out some of my conflict over who to vote for.
Gordon Smith Pros:
* From Pendleton
(He lives near my mom, actually. I like the perspective this gives him. As someone from ‘out east’ he has a point of view that Portlanders don’t have.)
* Sits on several Committees/Subcommittees (Ranking Minority Member on at least 1)
(Do you know how long it takes to become someone with enough power to get on a committee? It’s a LONG time. And it gives us visibility.)
* Has deviated from Party Lockstep ™ from time to time
(This matters to me because it means he has a stance of his own. NOBODY should ever march in complete lockstep all the time. Thinking for yourself FTW!)
Gordon Smith Cons:
* Republican
(We all know what this means. There are some larger issues I disagree with him on.)
* Fudging a bit on the “pro gay” issue
(He says he’s all gay friendly or whatever, but he’d vote FOR a Constitutional ban on gay marriage and that’s wrong in like 8 different ways. He just helped pass hate crime laws. Good, certainly, but not enough IMO.)
* Helped Trent Lott maintain Minority Whip position
(Trent #$@
(I can't call it pro-life, I just can't. He thinks it is wrong and I can't get behind that.)
* Pro Broadcast Flag
(Kind of a big deal really. This matters to me a LOT.)
* Running sleaziest/most negative campaign ads on TV (except maybe Merkley’s)
(Seriously. They are SO bad!!)
Jeff Merkley Pros:
* Democrat
(So we agree on some of the bigger stuff.)
* Unanimously elected to Oregon’s Speaker Of The House position
(In Oregon I’m pretty sure a unanimous anything is a big frigging deal.)
* Director of Habitat For Humanity’s Portland chapter
(This is good. I like that he’s done something that helps other people.)
* Pro “gay marriage”
(I use quotes because it should just be “marriage” and it should be for everybody. He agrees.)
Jeff Merkley Cons:
* Took away my Sudafed
(HUGE red flag for me. Sudafed is prescription only in Oregon now, and one of the biggest tines on the VOTE YES fork was “who, pray who, will think of the children!?” and it bugs me when someone is swayed by that. We still have a lot of meth, btw.)
* Claims he “grew up in a mill town” but graduated from a Portland HS
(I don’t get this. Why would his ad say it? It was super easy for me to determine this was hooey. They moved to Portland after FIRST GRADE. That barely even counts as living in the wilderness! I graduated high school from a teeny town where I spent my whole life. That’s a huge difference, Jeff.)
* Increased school FUNDING, but not school ACCOUNTABILITY for funding.
(If someone says they need ten dollars and you give it to them and a week later they need ten more, how many times do you give it before going “what are you doing with all that cash?” This is what already aggravates me about school funding.)
* Running sleaziest/most negative campaign ads on TV (except maybe Smith’s)
(Seriously. They are SO bad!!)
So while it would be nice to have Smith’s experience and committee seats, knowing that Merkley could possibly help the Senate hit the filibuster proof 60 votes would also be really nice.
If you know something I should be considering, or if I’m mistaken on something already in this list, please let me know. Thank you!
6 Comments
I haven’t listened to it yet, but Merkley was on Think Out Loud this morning. OPB invited both he and Smith, but Smith declined the invitation. Anyway, I don’t know if that’s worth reading into, but maybe listening to the show will help you decide:
http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/posts/list/1772210.page
Personally, I’m inclined to not vote for either of them given how incredibly negative their campaigns have been. Still making up my mind.
Verso,
There is one big reason to vote for Merkley and that is REAL DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY in the Senate. So yeah, I agree with this being on your list but it should be at the top. Obama, should we be fortunate enough and work hard enough to have him elected, will not be able to pass any significant, reform legislation on health care, campaign financing, wars, national security, SCOTUS nominees etc. without a filibuster proof majority which is 60 seats. Right now the Dems have 51. Oregon could give them one of nine needed.
Secondly, Smith is a lot more regressive than he like to show. His business dumps toxins in local waters. He is anti-choice. He said he was for ending the Iraq war then voted the opposite.
True, Merkley’s campaign has been negative and off-putting. But I voted for him as far lesser of evils.
Honestly I don’t know how each of the candidates voted on past measures. I do know that Merkley and Smith are running slimy sleazy campaigns. I wanted to vote for someone else until I read the 3rd Candidates docket. I know that my opinions are my opinions. I want to live my life in a way that is good and decent. I don’t want to suppress another person’s freedoms or rights. I believe that everyone should be able to marry and I believe that a woman should have the right to choose what path to take if she’s pregnant. I want good, respectable people representing me and my issues. I feel as an Oregonian. I am not getting that from the Senatorial candidates.
Let me start off by saying that I cannot vote in Oregon (even if I do spend 50% of my life there).
If you want to a quick comparison you have 3 Pros for Smith and 4 for Merkley. And 6 Cons for Smith and 4 for Merkley. So, if you are going by actual bullet points, Merkley wins.
I wouldn’t vote for Smith, even if I could. Someone that doesn’t respect a woman’s right to an safe and legal abortion will never get my vote.
Well it looks like I’m the only one on the Pro-Smith campaign. I no longer vote in Oregon. Washington seems to have issues with that, however being from Eastern Oregon (like you, because…well, we’re related) I have to say, having Gordon Smith actual have a voice for The forgotten on the East side has always swayed me. You don’t have to ask your Dad, my Grandma or any one of the “old-timers” about the beetle problems in the forest. Most of the politicans had never even steped foot in a REAL forest let alone have a remote clue about how to help save them.
You and I disagree on a lot of politics…no I take that back…the social issues (most of them) we agree. At least Marriage rights for all, Pro-choice and that sort of thing…and I’m a dreaded republican. However, I have voted for my fair share of Democrats in the past. While I disagree with Smith on some things, it is always nice to know Your Dad, your Mom, La Grande, Boardman, Pendleton and Baker have a voice.
Hi Verso – I’m way late to this convo but I’m curious if you’ve voted yet (not that you have to say how.) My comments, as you’d guess from previous tweets, would line up pretty well with kmazz’s and missburrows as I agree with both pretty wholeheartedly. You make a good point about his seniority and the guy is smarty-smart on some health care policy, but I can’t get past the fact that he sells himself as this moderate and he’s just not. But anyway, thanks for laying out your thought process. It’s been a really interesting race to watch — and not cuz of the lousy ads, but because people like you are thinking through their votes this way.